Harness-saddle



EITEE STATES PATENT oEEIcE.

ROBERT SPENCER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

HARNESS-SADDLE.

Specification Of Letters Patent No.` 771551, dated August 6, 1850.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT SPENCER, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and im' proved Harness-Saddle; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and eXact Fig. 4, a side view of one of the leather flaps t, detached fro-m the saddle.

Similar letters indicate like parts in all the gures.

The casting A, B, B, constitutes the skirts and an ornamental seat for a harness saddle; and with the elastic plates C, C', combined with the skirt portions (B, B,) thereof, it also forms a tree for giving the requisite support to the pads.

4The nature of my invention consists in the combination of the elastic plates C, C, with the skirt portions (B, B,) of the cast-- ing A, B, B, and with the pads F, F, in such a manner as to cause the pads to have an equable and an elastic bearing upon the back of a horse, for the purpose of enabling the saddles to adapt themselves to horses of different sizes and conditions; and also, by the springy and elastic bearing of the pads upon the shoulders of a horse, preventing the back of the animal from being injured by pressure, and the shoulders from being heated and galled by the pads, as is theV case with pads which have a dead and constant pressure upon a horse.

4Another advantage derived from the com bination of the spring plates with a harness saddle tree, is the prevention -of the breaking of the pads opposite the ends of the points of the tree, which frequently occurs with harness saddles constructed in the usual manner, in consequence of the inadequate support given to the pads by the points of the tree, from their want of length. The skirt portions B, B, of the casting, are of the same length as the points in the trees heretofore made use of in the construction of harness saddles; the lower ends of the elastic plates C, C, combined with these skirt projections, extend the same distance from the under side of the crown `of the casting, as the points of the trees upon which riding saddles are constructed, extend from the under side of the pommel. Consequently, 1t. will be perceived that the said spring plates C, C, are not to extend so far down the sides of a horse as to produce any injurious effect. On the under sides of the skirt portions (B, B,) of the casting there are cast the projections f, f, in which screw threads are cut. The leather aps L, h, are connected to the under side of the casting A, B, B, by means of the screw projections f, 7", and the nuts g, g, screwed thereon, which actupon the elastic metallic plat-es C, C, and compress the flaps securely between the said elastic plates and the under surfaces of the portions B, B, of the casting; the screw and nut that confines the water hook E, to the pommel of the saddle, and the rivets that pass through the apertures a, n, in the casting, also pass through the leather flaps h, h, and aid in combining them se curely to the under side ofthe cast portion of the saddle.

The pad F, is made in the usual manner, and is confined to the under side of the leather flaps 7L, 7L, by strongly stitching the upper side of the pad to the under side of the edges of the flaps, as represented in Fig. 3.

The tug straps i, z', are secured by inserting their upper ends into slots formed in the portions of the leather flaps 7L, 7L, that are located between the skirts B, B, and the i elastic plates C, C, and passing the screw Shanks of the terrets D, D. through the holes 8,) in the tug straps and into holes in the plates C, C, as shown in Fig. 2.

The metallic plates C, C, that serve to confine the leather flaps 7L, h, to the under side of the casting A, B, B, also serve to make the saddle perfectly self adjustable to the backs of dierent horses, in consequence of the elasticity of the plates enabling the pads to adjust themselves freely to every shape and condition of a horse, and to give the pads an equable and an elastic bearing. I do not intend to limit myself to the precise manner of confining the elastic plates C, C, to the under sides of the leather iaps L, 7L, as herein represented and described; as their union may be effected by means of hooks projecting from the under side of the and by other equivalent methods.

Having thus fully described my improved a springy and equable hearing upon a horse, 10

method of making harness saddles, What I claim thereinas my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent,ris-

The combination of separate elastic plates C, C, With t-he skirt portions B, B, of the casting A, B, B, and the pads F, F, suhstantially in the manner herein set forth;

for the purpose of causing the pads to have and to adapt themselves to horses of different sizes and conditions.

The above specification signed and Witnessed 'this 23rd day of Nov. 1849.

' ROBERT SPENCER.

Vitnesses:

Z. C. ROBBINS, R. W. VVILCOX.A 

